Written Answers Wednesday 22 November 2006

Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11463 by Mr Andy Kerr on 11 November 2004, how many air ambulance journeys were carried out from within the Highland Council area in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06, detailing where such journeys originated.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is detailed in a table entitled Information requested for question S2W-29772 a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 40992).

Ambulance Service

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how often helicopters were used for air ambulance duties using pick-up points in (a) Argyll and Bute, (b) the Western Isles, (c) Orkney and (d) Shetland in each year since 1999 and which pick-up points were used.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is detailed in the table: Information requested for question S2W-29773 a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 40994).

Ambulance Service

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions and at what cost (a) Ministry of Defence and (b) Coastguard Service helicopters have been used to transport a patient from (i) one of the North Isles of Orkney to Balfour Hospital, Kirkwall, (ii) one of the North Isles of Orkney to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and (iii) Kirkwall to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary between 1 April 2006 and 31 October 2006

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is set out in the following table:

  

 
 Ministry of Defence
 Coastguard


 Patients
 Cost
 Patients
 Cost


 (i)
 -
 -
 1
£4,636


 (ii)
 -
 -
 -
 -


 (iii)
 2
 Not Known*
 -
 -



  Notes:

  #Information provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service

  *The Scottish Ambulance Service has not yet received an invoice from the Ministry of Defence for these missions.

Ambulance Service

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions the Scottish Ambulance Service’s EC 135 helicopter has been deployed to transport patients from or within Orkney in each month since January 2006.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is set out in the following table:

  

 Month of 2006
 Occasions when EC 135 Helicopter has been Deployed to Transport Patients from or Within Orkney


 January
 29


 February
 28


 March
 40


 April
 7


 May
 12


 June
 6


 July
 5


 August
 4


 September
 3


 October
 5



  Note: #Information provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Ambulance Service

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost to the Scottish Ambulance Service was in 2005-06 for the use of (a) Ministry of Defence and (b) Coastguard Service helicopters to attend patients in Orkney.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is provided in the following table:

  

 
 Ministry of Defence
 Coastguard


 2005-06
£30,504
£8,683



  Note: #Information provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Benefits

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many people have been in receipt of incapacity benefit for (a) up to one year, (b) one to two years, (c) two to five years and (d) over five years, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table shows the number of beneficiaries of incapacity benefit by the duration of the current claim for February 2006.

  

 February 2006
 Number of Beneficiaries of Incapacity Benefit by Duration of Current Claim


 Scottish Parliamentary Constituency of claimant
 (a) Up to 1 Year
 (b) 1 year up to 2 years
 (c) 2 years up to 5 years
 (d) 5 years and over


 Aberdeen Central
 330
 230
 550
 1,210


 Aberdeen North
 330
 220
 540
 1,050


 Aberdeen South
 270
 170
 470
 850


 Airdrie and Shotts
 550
 360
 850
 2,630


 Angus
 310
 210
 510
 1,020


 Argyll and Bute
 280
 160
 380
 970


 Ayr
 300
 160
 450
 1,300


 Banff and Buchan
 380
 270
 630
 1,350


 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
 230
 160
 380
 870


 Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
 470
 270
 740
 1,910


 Central Fife
 410
 260
 810
 1,660


 Clydebank and Milngavie
 320
 200
 470
 1,320


 Clydesdale
 500
 310
 700
 2,070


 Coatbridge and Chryston
 530
 270
 720
 2,180


 Cumbernauld and Kilsyth
 360
 230
 600
 1,460


 Cunninghame North
 310
 200
 480
 1,380


 Cunninghame South
 370
 220
 620
 1,620


 Dumbarton
 400
 240
 530
 1,470


 Dumfries
 340
 240
 510
 1,300


 Dundee East
 390
 270
 680
 1,550


 Dundee West
 360
 220
 690
 1,440


 Dunfermline East
 350
 280
 720
 1,650


 Dunfermline West
 320
 210
 580
 1,180


 East Kilbride
 400
 260
 550
 1,440


 East Lothian
 330
 240
 540
 1,160


 Eastwood
 320
 190
 460
 1,200


 Edinburgh Central
 230
 170
 430
 960


 Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
 340
 240
 570
 1,290


 Edinburgh North and Leith
 290
 190
 480
 1,120


 Edinburgh Pentlands
 280
 150
 400
 820


 Edinburgh South
 200
 160
 370
 880


 Edinburgh West
 240
 160
 390
 730


 Falkirk East
 350
 230
 610
 1,520


 Falkirk West
 320
 280
 630
 1,620


 Galloway and Upper Nithsdale
 280
 200
 470
 1,220


 Glasgow Anniesland
 340
 220
 570
 1,780


 Glasgow Baillieston
 430
 270
 730
 2,150


 Glasgow Cathcart
 330
 230
 530
 1,750


 Glasgow Govan
 300
 180
 550
 1,430


 Glasgow Kelvin
 260
 180
 410
 1,420


 Glasgow Maryhill
 400
 220
 660
 1,970


 Glasgow Pollok
 350
 260
 550
 1,860


 Glasgow Rutherglen
 440
 250
 630
 1,930


 Glasgow Shettleston
 460
 270
 800
 2,480


 Glasgow Springburn
 490
 260
 700
 2,170


 Gordon
 300
 160
 420
 730


 Greenock and Inverclyde
 400
 290
 560
 1,620


 Hamilton North and Bellshill
 420
 240
 670
 2,040


 Hamilton South
 440
 230
 600
 1,940


 Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber
 340
 250
 540
 1,120


 Kilmarnock and Loudoun
 400
 230
 570
 1,310


 Kirkcaldy
 280
 190
 560
 1,070


 Linlithgow
 380
 290
 730
 1,510


 Livingston
 520
 350
 750
 1,600


 Midlothian
 300
 230
 500
 1,200


 Moray
 330
 210
 480
 900


 Motherwell and Wishaw
 470
 320
 630
 2,000


 North East Fife
 260
 150
 410
 740


 North Tayside
 310
 190
 410
 920


 Ochil
 380
 230
 590
 1,660


 Orkney Islands
 70
 40
 90
 240


 Paisley North
 390
 250
 630
 1,510


 Paisley South
 360
 220
 580
 1,550


 Perth
 300
 180
 460
 940


 Ross, Skye and Inverness West
 320
 190
 490
 1,140


 Roxburgh and Berwickshire
 250
 140
 340
 770


 Shetland Islands
 100
 50
 150
 190


 Stirling
 230
 160
 400
 1,080


 Strathkelvin and Bearsden
 300
 200
 450
 1,190


 Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale
 240
 150
 410
 700


 West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
 220
 140
 340
 600


 West Renfrewshire
 360
 180
 510
 1,450


 Western Isles
 140
 80
 210
 400



  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Carers

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many carer’s assessments were made last year per head of population in (a) the Scottish Borders and (b) Dumfries and Galloway and how these figures compare with the national average.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Executive collected sample information on the number of assessments (including carers’ assessments) conducted in 2005-06. That data is not, however, sufficiently robust to enable the comparisons sought in the question to be made.

Central Heating Programme

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many eligible householders received free central heating, insulation and other benefits worth around £3,000 per household by March 2006 from the Executive’s 2005-06 budget of £57 million for its central heating programme and Warm Deal scheme.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  In 2005-06, it is estimated that around 14,000 central heating systems and almost 15,500 Warm Deal measures were installed by the managing agent.

Central Heating Programme

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting times have been for the (i) assessment of eligible applications and (ii) awarding of grants under the Warm Deal scheme in each year since its introduction, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Information is not held centrally in the form requested. The average waiting time for the Warm Deal programme is six months.

Central Heating Programme

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting times have been for the (i) assessment of eligible applications and (ii) installation of central heating under its central heating programme in each year since its introduction, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Information is not held centrally in the form requested. The average waiting time for the central heating programme is six months.

Central Heating Programme

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many eligible applicants have waited for at least six months for (a) the provision of free central heating and insulation under its central heating programme and (b) grants to have their homes insulated under the Warm Deal scheme in each year since the initiatives were introduced, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Information is not held centrally in the form requested. The average waiting time for both programmes is six months.

Charter for Grandchildren

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the legal status is of the Charter for Grandchildren and what plans it has to afford it greater status.

Johann Lamont: The Charter for Grandchildren was introduced in May this year, as part of a range of non-legislative measures designed to complement the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006. The Charter for Grandchildren aims to highlight the important role grandparents and the wider family can play in supporting children, particularly through difficult times such as divorce or separation. It exists as a stand alone document. It also forms part of the Parenting Agreement for Scotland, which is a pack aimed at parents who are separating. It allows parents to consider and record their agreement on key areas which affect their children, such as health, schooling, and contact with wider family members. The family law information materials have been distributed widely across Scotland, including Citizens Advice Bureaux, public libraries and registrars. Further information is available from the website:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/familylaw.

Children's Hearings

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what requests it has received from the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration for additional funding to support front-line services between February and November 2006.

Robert Brown: Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration submitted four proposals for funding. All were in response to requests from the Scottish Executive.

Children's Hearings

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the number of children referred to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) in the last six months on offence grounds has increased compared with the corresponding six months of 2005.

Robert Brown: This information is not yet available.

  We expect the SCRA to publish the second quarterly performance monitoring report in respect of 2006-07 early in December, thereafter it will be laid in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre in the normal way.

Children's Hearings

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of its external consultants will be used to validate offence ground referral datasets produced by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.

Robert Brown: No.

Children's Hearings

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how regularly it monitors the number of referrals to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) on (a) care and protection and non-offence grounds and (b) offence grounds and how many referrals there were in each category in the last six months, also showing how these figures compare with the corresponding six months in 2005.

Robert Brown: The SCRA publish data quarterly as well as an annual report which are analysed by the Scottish Executive to inform action.

  The information requested on the number of referrals for the six months in 2005 can be found in the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration Annual Report for 2005-06 which was published on 16 November. A copy is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 40988).

  As regards data for the last six months, this information is not yet available. We expect the SCRA to publish the second quarterly performance monitoring report in respect of 2006-07 early in December, thereafter it will be laid in Scottish Parliament Information Centre in the normal way.

Children's Hearings

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland in respect of a request from the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration for £20 million of additional funding to support front-line services.

Robert Brown: The Executive has not received any representations from the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland in respect of additional funding for the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.

Children's Hearings

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it estimates that the number of referrals to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration on offence grounds will peak.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it estimates that the number of referrals to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration on non-offence grounds will peak.

Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive has made no such estimates for either offence or non-offence grounds, nor are we in a position to do so.

  The multi-agency Ministerial Task Group, which was set up in the summer, has been developing a new way of working for the referrals process. The new model will help referring agencies to identify when compulsory measures might be needed and, when they are not, help agencies to deliver services for children much more quickly without a referral to the reporter.

  We are primarily concerned that children who offend or are at risk get an appropriate, proportionate and timely response so that positive outcomes are secured. Where that may entail compulsory supervision in an individual case, then the matter should be referred to the principal reporter.

Children's Hearings

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has to link the number of offence referrals to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration to children living in the 10 most deprived communities, as determined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Robert Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-27307 on 2 August 2006 which stated that the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) does not hold information on children referred as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Children's Hearings

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on possible sales of children’s hearing centre premises by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) to address a financial shortfall resulting from the decision of Scottish ministers to refuse a request for £20 million of additional funding to support its front-line services.

Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive is unaware of any such proposal.

  The SCRA is being resourced by the Scottish Executive to upgrade and, where necessary, replace hearings centres.

  Where a centre is no longer fit for purpose and has been replaced by new premises, the Executive may agree to the receipt from the sale of the old building being retained by the SCRA.

Children's Hearings

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional financial resources it plans to allocate to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration in each of the next three years to address the rising number of referrals on both offence and non-offence grounds.

Robert Brown: The SCRA’s overall annual grant-in-aid has increased by over £10 million since 2001 to over £24 million in 2006-07 and 2007-08. It is not possible to provide details of grant-in-aid funding beyond 2007-08 until the outcomes of the next Spending Review are known.

  Consideration is currently being given to three proposals for additional funding and the SCRA will be informed of the outcome in due course. We monitor resourcing requirements, in close liaison with the SCRA management, in order to optimise the administration’s effectiveness.

Children's Hearings

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children, who would previously have been dealt with by a children’s hearing panel, it estimates will not now be dealt with as a result of the decision by the Principal Reporter of the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) to prioritise cases by risk, in light of the decision of Scottish ministers to refuse a request for £20 million of additional funding to support its front-line services.

Robert Brown: We are not in a position to provide such an estimate.

  While there has been a steep increase in the number of referrals in the last year in particular, the percentage of those going to a hearing has remained proportionately similar. At present only 10% of referrals to the Children’s Reporter go to a Children’s Hearing.

  That is why the multi-agency Ministerial Task Group was set up in the summer. The new model being developed by the group will help referring agencies to ensure that children receive the help they need when they need it without having to await the outcome of a reporter or hearings decision. It will also help agencies to identify when compulsory measures might be needed to ensure appropriate referrals are being made.

  The SCRA plans to introduce its case filtering tool because of the increasing number of referrals where there is no need for compulsory measures of supervision. The tool is intended to help reduce the risk to children by ensuring reporters and hearings can focus on those most in need of compulsion.

Children's Hearings

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children’s panel members there have been in each year since 1999.

Robert Brown: The information requested is provided in the following table.

  Children’s Panel Membership 1999 to 2006

  

 Local Authority
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07*


 Aberdeen
 81
 97
 84
 88
 81
 75
 95
 96


 Aberdeenshire
 85
 84
 90
 82
 85
 86
 70
 73


 Angus
 32
 31
 35
 35
 34
 35
 29
 35


 Argyll and Bute
 55
 59
 56
 49
 50
 58
 64
 60


 Clackmannanshire
 26
 25
 28
 27
 30
 31
 32
 33


 Dumfries and Galloway
 66
 60
 72
 68
 75
 83
 88
 87


 Dundee
 80
 73
 85
 87
 95
 98
 85
 85


 East Ayrshire
 44
 48
 43
 43
 38
 42
 53
 60


 East Dunbartonshire
 23
 26
 26
 26
 24
 28
 25
 24


 East Lothian
 28
 32
 26
 30
 35
 40
 46
 44


 East Renfrewshire
 23
 23
 20
 15
 23
 19
 17
 22


 Edinburgh
 129
 121
 143
 147
 169
 131
 148
 138


 Falkirk
 64
 69
 64
 61
 65
 64
 60
 62


 Fife
 82
 104
 101
 105
 103
 95
 92
 104


 Glasgow
 470
 462
 457
 519
 530
 514
 559
 569


 Highland
 127
 125
 128
 130
 142
 127
 130
 136


 Inverclyde
 45
 50
 54
 49
 53
 52
 56
 55


 Midlothian
 28
 26
 32
 34
 39
 40
 41
 42


 Moray
 34
 32
 34
 35
 39
 41
 44
 42


 North Ayrshire
 51
 53
 55
 49
 52
 52
 60
 66


 North Lanarkshire
 145
 156
 144
 115
 149
 172
 146
 144


 Orkney
 16
 18
 16
 18
 16
 18
 17
 19


 Perth and Kinross
 24
 22
 27
 25
 27
 21
 27
 24


 Renfrewshire
 72
 79
 64
 78
 81
 74
 71
 76


 Scottish Borders
 35
 38
 30
 37
 46
 50
 54
 51


 Shetland
 15
 18
 15
 15
 12
 13
 15
 16


 South Ayrshire
 31
 25
 26
 24
 31
 32
 29
 39


 South Lanarkshire
 81
 70
 77
 74
 80
 88
 69
 86


 Stirling
 31
 37
 40
 36
 40
 35
 38
 33


 West Dunbartonshire
 51
 64
 55
 68
 73
 68
 60
 72


 West Lothian
 55
 57
 56
 56
 57
 62
 75
 75


 Western Isles
 16
 13
 14
 15
 16
 18
 18
 18


 Scotland
 2,145
 2,197
 2,197
 2,240
 2,390
 2,362
 2,413
 2,486



  Note: *As at November 2006.

Commissioner for Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2003

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Commissioner for Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2003 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Robert Brown: The Financial Memorandum to the Bill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. The only quantifiable costs arising from provisions in the bill relate to the operation of the office of the Commissioner for Children and Young People. These costs are the responsibility of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.

Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the Bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the Act came into force, in each category.

Lewis Macdonald: The Standing Orders of the Scottish Parliament require all Executive Bills on introduction to be accompanied by a Financial Memorandum which sets out the best estimates of the administrative, compliance and other costs to which the provisions of the bill would give rise, best estimates of the timescales over which such costs would be expected to arise, and an indication of the margins of uncertainty in such estimates. The Financial Memorandum must distinguish separately such costs as would fall upon (a) the Scottish Administration, (b) local authorities and (c) other bodies, individuals and businesses. These memoranda are freely available on the Scottish Parliament’s website.

  By way of comparable information actual initial set up costs and annual costs for the year 2005-06 in the same categories as the Financial Memoranda is as follows.

  

 Actual


 Executive
 Local Authorities
 Other


 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual


£1,800
 
 
£220,000,000
 
£245,000

Conservation

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-28931, S2W-28932 and S2W-28933 by Rhona Brankin on 30 October 2006, what domestic funding mechanisms are available to meet the protection, promotion and management needs of Natura 2000 sites and how it intends to deploy these mechanisms.

Rhona Brankin: The key domestically funded mechanisms supporting the protection, promotion and management of Natura 2000 sites in Scotland are Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) management agreements and Natural Care schemes. Domestic funding for Natura 2000 is also a component of agri-environment schemes and the Scottish Forestry Grant Scheme.

  SNH will continue to enter into new contacts under its Natural Care programme until Rural Development Land Management Contracts (LMCs) become operational. They will also continue to make individual management agreements for Natura 2000 sites in circumstances where LMCs are not available.

  In addition, SNH is involved in partnership with other public sector bodies as well as the NGO and private sector to deliver projects which enable the protection of Natura 2000 sites. These projects draw funding from a mix of EU and domestic sources including SNH’s core grant, research and promotions programmes.

Dentistry

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding is in place for salaried dentists to be employed by NHS boards beyond 2008.

Lewis Macdonald: Yes, non-capital costs, including salaries, will continue to be chargeable to the General Dental Services budget.

Dentistry

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or NHS boards have set service targets for salaried dentists.

Lewis Macdonald: Salaried general dental practitioners are employees of NHS boards and it is for boards to set any targets. Work is currently under way with a view to establishing guidelines to boards as to appropriate targets.

Dentistry

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the NHS plans to fund mouthguards for children.

Lewis Macdonald: We have committed as part of the Action Plan for Improving Oral Health and Modernising NHS Dental Services to ensure that all secondary schools will be offered as part of the health promoting schools ethos, an interactive smile programme, promoting oral health, good eating, no smoking and prevention of sporting injuries to teeth. The Executive is considering how best to meet the commitment on prevention of sporting injuries.

Disability Discrimination Act 2005

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will promote the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 which will come into force in December 2006.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005 is Westminster legislation. One of the principal provisions of the DDA 2005 introduces a duty on the public sector to promote equality for disabled people; due to come into force on 4 December 2006.

  To support the introduction of the public sector duty the Executive wrote to all Scottish public bodies subject to the specific duties in December 2005 to inform them of their new legal obligations under the Disability Discrimination (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2005.

  We are also supporting the Disability Rights Commission’s (DRC) programme of conferences to raise awareness and support public authorities in responding to the disability equality duty. To mark the introduction of the duty, I will be speaking at the DRC Scotland launch event on 4 December 2006.

  The Executive is committed to continuing to work with the DRC, disabled people and public authorities in Scotland to encourage and support the implementation of the disability equality duty. As part of this we plan to establish a Public Sector Equality Forum and will use this as a route to promote shared or joint approaches by public authorities.

Disability Discrimination Act 2005

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it will issue to local authorities to ensure that they take a co-ordinated approach against service providers who do not comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 by regulation and refusal to grant licences.

Malcolm Chisholm: Enforcement of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005 is a matter for the courts and the Disability Rights Commission (DRC). The Scottish Executive therefore has no plans to issue guidance to local authorities about action against service providers who do not comply with the DDA 2005.

  However, the Executive is committed to continuing to work with the DRC, disabled people and public authorities in Scotland to encourage and support the implementation of the disability equality duty, introduced by the DDA 2005. As part of this we plan to establish a Public Sector Equality Forum and will use this as a route to promote shared or joint approaches by public authorities.

Funeral Expenses

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what communication it has had with funeral directors and their trade organisations regarding the cost of funerals and whether it considers that it is good practice for funeral directors to request up-front payments of around £700 to cover funeral costs.

Allan Wilson: I am not aware of any official communication with funeral directors on this matter. However, I would encourage all businesses to provide the best service possible to their customers. I understand the Office of Fair Trading has invited the funerals sector to participate in its Consumer Codes Approval Scheme.

Health

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking concerning Beatrice McGregor, an 80-year-old female non-restricted patient, who went missing from care at Ailsa Hospital on 31 October 2006.

Lewis Macdonald: The patient is not a restricted patient and therefore this is a matter for NHS Ayrshire and Arran Health Board.

Health

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there was any change in its policy guidance on unsupervised leave for restricted patients between the initial absconding of Mark Biggley from Ailsa Hospital in May 2006 and his subsequent absconding in September.

Lewis Macdonald: No.

Health

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28779 by Lewis Macdonald on 24 October 2006, why it was not informed of the decision to grant Mark Biggley unescorted leave prior to it being taken.

Lewis Macdonald: The question of why the Executive was not so informed is one of those addressed as part of the Critical Incident Review, which is currently being considered by ministers.

Health

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28776 by Lewis Macdonald on 27 October 2006, when it expects NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s Critical Incident Review to be completed and whether the review and the membership of the review group will be made public.

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s Critical Incident Review following Mark Biggley’s abscondment from Ailsa Hospital in May 2006 and, if so, whether it will publish it.

Lewis Macdonald: The Critical Incident Review by NHS Ayrshire and Arran was received on 24 October 2006 and is currently being considered by ministers. The question of publication of the recommendations of the review will be part of that consideration.

Health

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28876 by Lewis Macdonald on 30 October 2006, whether the reference to three restricted patient absconds from Ailsa Hospital in 2006 relates to three patients absconding or three instances of the same patient absconding.

Lewis Macdonald: Two restricted patients absconded. One restricted patient absconded twice and the other on one occasion.

Health

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the NHS Ayrshire and Arran Critical Incident Review will examine the circumstances of a non-restricted patient who went missing in the company of Mark Biggley when he absconded from Ailsa Hospital.

Lewis Macdonald: The Critical Incident Report focused on the restricted patient. NHS Ayrshire and Arran are reviewing separately the circumstances surrounding the non-restricted patient.

Housing

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28139 by Johann Lamont on 13 September 2006, whether this answer indicates that the Executive has made no estimate of the capital and revenue costs of implementing the second stage transfer of Glasgow Housing Association’s housing stock.

Malcolm Chisholm: As noted in the reply to the answer to S2W-28139 on 13 September 2006, the costs of second stage transfer (SST) will vary significantly according to a large number of factors, including in particular the number and shape of transfers and the timing of these transfers. The number, shape and timing of SST has still to be agreed between partners. A joint team of officials from Glasgow Housing Association, Communities Scotland, Glasgow City Council and the purchasers are currently considering the financial implications of SST and their report will be finalised shortly.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Housing

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28141 by Johann Lamont on 15 September 2006, who the members are of the joint team examining the financial issues of second stage transfers, indicating the positions they hold (a) on the joint team and (b) within the organisation they represent on the joint team.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive does not feel it would be appropriate to provide names of officials involved in the joint team. However, a list of the organisations involved is provided in the following table:

  

 Name of Partner
 Department/Organisation leading on involvement in the Joint Team


 Communities Scotland 
 Glasgow Area Team


 Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) 
 GHA Corporate


 Glasgow City Council
 Financial Services Department


 Purchasers
 North Glasgow Housing Association and their financial advisers

Housing

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28143 by Johann Lamont on 15 September 2006, whether it will list each tranche of funding that it has made available to Glasgow Housing Association to support the delivery of its business plan, indicating the specific purpose for which each tranche was given.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28143 by Johann Lamont on 15 September 2006, whether this answer indicates that the Executive has given no funds to Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) other than for the delivery of GHA’s business plan and, if it has provided further funding, what the purpose was of this funding.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table provides a breakdown of the funding available to Glasgow Housing Association to support delivery of its business plan and indicates the purpose of each source of funding.

  

 Grant
 Purpose of the Grant
 Total Amount Available


 Repayable Grant
 To support the achievement of GHA’s Business Objectives.
 368,700,000 


 Contingent Efficiencies
 To support the achievement of GHA’s Business Objectives.
 100,000,000 


 Demolition Grant
 To support the demolition of stock in accordance with GHA’s Business Objectives
 114,000,000 


 Reprovisioning
 To support the construction of 2800 new build properties in accordance with GHA’s Business Objectives.
 113,000,000 


 Central Heating 
 To support the installation or upgrade of central heating systems in GHA properties.
 20,630,000 


 GHA Owner Occupiers (Paid to GCC)
 To support owner occupiers, on a means-tested basis, in meeting the costs of work on their properties as part of GHA’s investment programme. 
 100,000,000 


 Totals
 
 816,330,000

Housing

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28144 by Johann Lamont on 15 September 2006, when the report of the joint team of officials looking at the financial issues raised by second stage housing stock transfer will be available.

Malcolm Chisholm: The report of the joint team on financial issues associated with second stage transfers will be finalised shortly. It will be made publicly available following its initial consideration by key stakeholders.

Housing

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-28145 by Johann Lamont on 15 September 2006, what "early progress" means in relation to the implementation of Glasgow Housing Association’s second stage transfer.

Malcolm Chisholm: "Early progress" in that context means continuation of the current efforts of all the key stakeholders culminating in some transfer proposals reaching the point where they can be formally put to tenants under the statutory provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001.

Housing

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings it has had with councillors and officials from the City of Edinburgh Council to discuss an alternative strategy for affordable housing in the city, following the rejection of housing stock transfer, and what commitments it has made to the council in terms of securing debt write-offs and providing financial support as part of such a strategy.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has been in regular contact with the City of Edinburgh Council since the outcome of the stock transfer ballot in December 2005.

  I had a formal meeting with the executive member for community safety and housing on 22 December 2005 and have had a number of informal discussions thereafter.

  Officials from Communities Scotland and the Scottish Executive have also been in on-going dialogue with their counterparts in the Council following the ballot result. Discussions have focussed on how the City of Edinburgh Council will meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard by 2015.

  The council has not yet decided what its long term strategy will be, and no financial commitments have been agreed.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people registered on the National DNA Database were subsequently (a) convicted, (b) charged but not convicted and (c) not convicted in Scotland in relation to the events leading to the DNA sample being taken, broken down by (i) gender, (ii) age group and (iii) ethnicity.

Cathy Jamieson: On 10 November 2006, there were 204,141 criminal justice profiles obtained from arrested people registered on the Scottish DNA database, of which:

  (i) 99,770 profiles related to individuals who are known to have been convicted of an offence as the profile is being held as a result of that conviction, and

  (ii) 104,371 profiles related to individuals for whom criminal proceedings are still on-going in relation to the events leading to their DNA being taken. Therefore, they have not at this time been convicted nor found innocent of the offence associated with those events.

  There are also 8,658 unmatched profiles developed from crime scene material.

  As regards the 99,770 individuals known to have been convicted of an offence, it is not possible to distinguish between (i) those who were registered and subsequently convicted and (ii) those who were convicted and subsequently registered.

  No individuals have been registered and subsequently charged as charging precedes registration in all cases. Of the 104,371 individuals for whom criminal proceedings are still on-going in relation to the events leading to their DNA being taken, the information available is as follows:

  

 
 No. of Profiles for which Criminal Proceedings are On-Going


 Male, 16 and over
 86,055


 Female, 16 and over
 16,068


 Male, under 16
 1809


 Female, under 16
 439


 Total
 104,371



  On the issue of ethnicity, I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-22738 on 6 February 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  Under current legislation, the profiles of individuals who have not been and cannot be convicted (i.e. because they have been acquitted or absolutely discharged or have been subject to a decision that criminal proceedings will not be pursued) are removed from the database and no relevant records are kept.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations provided the fingerprint evidence for the Crown Office in the Lockerbie trial.

Elish Angiolini QC: Officers of Lothian and Borders Police, the Metropolitan Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and an agent of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation were cited as prosecution witnesses in the Lockerbie Trial in 2000 to give evidence about their examination of fingerprints obtained from Maltese immigration documents, hotel registration cards and other documents, including a false passport in the name of "Ahmed Khalifa Abdusamad" issued by the Libyan Government at the request of the Libyan Intelligence Services to Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi.

  The fingerprint evidence in the trial was not disputed by Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi and the relevant documents formed part of the evidence upon which he was convicted.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Crown Office has reviewed the fingerprint evidence used in the Lockerbie trial since the verdict was issued and, if so, which organisation carried out the review and when it did so.

Elish Angiolini QC: There has been no review of the fingerprint evidence in the Lockerbie trial by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and there is no intention to conduct such a review.

  The fingerprint evidence was not disputed by Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi and the travel documents to which it related were subsequently relied upon by the trial court in convicting him of the bombing of flight Pan Am 103 and the murder of 270 people.

Justice

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-29320 by Cathy Jamieson on 8 November 2006, whether it will confirm that at the time of an accused’s appearance in court the sheriff or judge will have available a full record of any outstanding bail orders against the accused.

Cathy Jamieson: At the time of an accused’s appearance in court the judge will have available the complaint which will show outstanding bail orders. The Crown can also refer to any matter which might assist the court in coming to a decision about bail, including police information, further information about the bail orders, outstanding charges on separate complaints (or on a separate petition or indictment) or deferred sentences. The court can also request further information from the Crown.

  Currently, in cases where bail is not being opposed by the Crown, it is normal practice for the court to grant bail. In these circumstances some information held by the Crown would not normally be provided to the judge. However, the Criminal Proceedings etc (Reform) (Scotland) Bill, currently before Parliament, will clarify that the final bail decision always rests with the court and the court will have access to the complaint and such other information as it sees fit to ask for.

Justice

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive why court-appointed solicitors preparing reports on children and families do not require an enhanced disclosure report.

Cathy Jamieson: Disclosure procedures require that reports are requested by those employing the particular individual. Solicitors appointed for the purposes of preparing reports for the courts are appointed by the presiding judge, to undertake particular duties in relation to a specific case.

  It would be for that judge to consider, given the particular circumstances of a case, whether it was necessary for the solicitor to have an enhanced disclosure report.

Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the Bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the Act came into force, in each category.

Rhona Brankin: The Standing Orders of the Scottish Parliament require all Bills on introduction to be accompanied by a Financial Memorandum which sets out the best estimates of the administrative, compliance and other costs to which the provisions of the bill would give rise, best estimates of the timescales over which such costs would be expected to arise, and an indication of the margins of uncertainty in such estimates. The Financial Memorandum must distinguish separately such costs as would fall upon (a) the Scottish administration, (b) local authorities and (c) other bodies, individuals and businesses. These memoranda are freely available on the Scottish Parliament’s website.

  By way of comparable information on actual initial set up costs and quantifiable annual costs for the year 2005-06 in the same categories as the Financial Memoranda is as follows.

  

 Actual


 Executive
 Local Authorities
 Other


 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual


£4,000
£263,000
£0
£1,800,000
£0
£465,000

Mental Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive for what average length of time children under the age of 18 receive treatment when they are prescribed anti-depressant drugs.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not available. Prescription data collected centrally are not patient-specific but relate to the numbers and cost of prescribed items dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors.

Mental Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under the age of 18 have received counselling (a) since and (b) prior to receiving anti-depressant drug treatment.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is not held centrally.

Museums

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-29250 by Patricia Ferguson on 7 November 2006, how long, after a museum makes an application for funding under the Significance Scheme for non-national museums, that organisation can expect to wait to hear whether its application has been successful.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Museums Council published Applicant Guidance for the Significance Scheme on 26 October 2006, when the scheme was launched. The application process is in two stages, the first for recognition under the scheme, and then (for museums successful in gaining recognition) for funding. Included in the guidance is a timetable for the first three rounds of applications for recognition during 2007. First round applications for recognition must be submitted by 2 February 2007, and a decision on these is expected in June 2007. Thereafter, successful applicants may apply to the National Significance Fund for funding; responses to these applications will be prompt.

  To assist the Museum of Lead Mining, the Executive has written to the Chair of Trustees offering financial support in 2007-08 to help in preparing the museum’s application. This includes immediate funding of up to £5,000 to pay for advertising for a new manager.

NHS Waiting Times

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for general practitioner referred physiotherapy appointments in the Dumbarton parliamentary constituency.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on physiotherapy waiting times is not routinely collected nationally.

  A one-off census of Allied Health Professional (AHP) services was carried out on 14 September 2005 to help ascertain the magnitude, variety and diversity of AHPs’ caseloads. A broad range of information, including information on waiting times, was gathered, and the report Waiting for AHP Services - A Review Of The Numbers Waiting And Possible Waiting Times For An Appointment With An AHP was published on 6 July 2006. This is available at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/collect2.jsp?pContentID=3896&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&.

  The report provides summary data concerning waiting times and numbers of patients waiting for appointments on a particular day. The data suggests that 94% of patients could expect a first appointment within 18 weeks and 75% of patients could expect a first appointment in less than 10 weeks if they are to attend a clinic, six weeks if they are to be seen at home and two weeks if they are to be seen while an in-patient.

Nutrition

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what association it considers there is between poor diet in young girls and the prospect of developing osteoporosis in later life.

Lewis Macdonald: There is evidence to suggest that improving the diet of adolescent girls by increasing calcium, vitamin D, fruit, vegetable and protein intake and decreasing carbonated soft drinks consumption may be an effective bone health strategy. Skeletal development and optimising diet and activity level at this stage would have a significant impact on preventing future osteoporosis.

  The Executive actively promotes measures such as improving diet, weight bearing physical activity, reducing alcohol intake and ceasing smoking.

Nutrition

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the minimum recommended level of calcium intake is per day and what percentage of teenage girls achieve this level.

Lewis Macdonald: The Food Standards Agency Scotland has informed me that the Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI) for calcium is 800 micrograms per day for girls aged 11 to 18 years of age (Department of Health 1991). This is the amount of calcium which is sufficient for almost all adolescent girls (97.5%). The Lower Reference Nutrient Intake (LRNI) for calcium is 450 micrograms per day for adolescent girls and is sufficient for only the small number of adolescent girls who have low requirements (2.5%).

  Data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey of Children and Young People Aged 4-18 years in Great Britain (Gregory et al, 2000), showed that approximately 22% of adolescent girls (11 to 18 years) had daily intakes of calcium that were 800mg or over per day, and 22% of adolescent girls had daily calcium intakes below the LRNI of 450 micrograms per day.

  The sampling frame for the National Diet and Nutrition Survey included participants from Scotland to ensure that data was representative of Great Britain. However, the numbers are too small for the survey to be fully representative of children and young people in Scotland alone.

Older People

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the targets for delayed discharge apply to geriatric patients and units for the care of elderly people.

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the targets for delayed discharge apply to community hospitals.

Lewis Macdonald: The new targets apply to all patients delayed unnecessarily for more than six weeks in any hospital setting. Additionally, no patient should be delayed at all in short-stay beds by April 2008.

Older People

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on wards for the care of elderly people of the targets for delayed discharge that apply to other areas or departments.

Lewis Macdonald: We have set challenging new targets in order to free up valuable hospital beds. We will monitor the impact of these changes on wards on a quarterly basis.

Older People

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the need for geriatric rehabilitation services.

Lewis Macdonald: It is a matter for NHS boards to assess the healthcare needs for its area and plan the delivery of services accordingly. However, Delivering for Health made a commitment to develop a Rehabilitation Framework to support services for older people, people with long-term conditions and people returning to work after a period of ill health. The framework will provide a strategic direction and support to all health and social care services and practitioners who deliver rehabilitation services. It will provide recommendations for action that have been developed following a process of consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

  The consultation period on the draft framework has just ended and the responses are now being analysed with a view to the steering group for the project considering the outcome and making recommendations for the final document.

Public Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of support has been provided to (a) Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority, or its successor organisation and (b) Lothian Buses in each year since 1999.

Tavish Scott: The funding provided by the Scottish Executive to Strathclyde Passenger Transport/Strathclyde Partnership for Transport since 1999 is set out in the following table. Lothian Buses has been in receipt of Bus Service Operators Grant, but we have no current plans to publish operator specific figures. Such information is commercially sensitive and it would not be in the public interest for it to be disclosed.

  

 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


£86.5 million
£76.6 million
£72.6 million
£70.2 million
£76.8 million
£112.3 million
£65.9 million

Public Transport

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is given to local authorities on obtaining best value in respect of meeting passenger transport needs.

Mr Tom McCabe: The duty of Best Value requires local authorities to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the performance of their functions, which includes their passenger transport functions. Statutory guidance has been issued by Scottish ministers to local authorities explaining what they are expected to demonstrate in fulfilling this statutory duty. The guidance can be accessed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/04/19166/35250 .

Public Transport

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is given to local authorities on requiring tenders for provision of subsidised bus services and whether community transport operators are required to be included in any tendering process.

Mr Tom McCabe: The requirement on local authorities to invite tenders for subsidised transport services was repealed by s60(3)(c) of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003. The act requires that local authorities secure Best Value in the performance of their functions, and guidance issued under s2(1)(b) of the act requires that a local authority conducts its business in a manner which demonstrates appropriate competitive practice. The guidance also provides that the authority is responsive to the interests of suppliers such as the voluntary and not for profit sectors, and is prepared to award contracts after competition where that represents Best Value. The guidance can be accessed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/04/19166/35250 .

Road Accidents

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the 20 road stretches or junctions that have had the highest (a) accident and (b) fatality rates in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: Information in the form requested is not available centrally.

  Detailed statistics on road accidents and casualties are published annually in Road Accidents Scotland, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Road Accidents Scotland 2005, to be published on 24 November 2006, will include a range of tables giving accident rates per million vehicle kilometres and casualty rates per thousand population.

Road Accidents

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the speed camera on the southbound carriageway of the A9 at Ballinluig was operational at the time of the accident at the junction on 25 October 2006.

Cathy Jamieson: I can confirm that the safety camera on the A9 at Ballinluig was operational at the time that the fatal accident occurred at this location. The film from the camera has been examined by the police officers investigating the accident.

Roads

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on preparatory works, including engineering, surveying, drilling and other associated costs, in respect of the proposed Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route since the announcement of the chosen route in December 2005.

Tavish Scott: Since the announcement on 1 December 2005, approximately £5.6 million has been spent on preparatory works for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.

  Transport Scotland has operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Scottish Executive Advertising

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much, and what percentage of, its advertising budget has been spent in each of the latest three years on (a) online, (b) television and radio and (c) newspaper advertising.

Mr Tom McCabe: The following table details how much and what percentage of the Scottish Executive Marketing Unit advertising budget has been spent on Online, Television and Radio and Newspapers in the latest three years.

  

 
 2003-04 Spend
 Percentage
 2004-05 Spend
 Percentage
 2005-06 Spend
 Percentage


Total AdvertisingExpenditure
£9,332,141
 
£9,554,912
 
£9,270,561
 


 Online
£0.00
 0%
£79,890
 0.8%
£160,154
 1.7%


 TV and Radio
£2,803,607
 30.0%
£2,976,349
 31.2%
£2,975,326
 32.1%


 Newspaper
£1,964,295
 21.0%
£1,385,072
 14.5%
£643,239
 6.9%

Sex Offenders

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many formal disclosures of confidential information concerning registered sex offenders have been made on child protection grounds by each local authority since 2003.

Robert Brown: The extent to which information is made available to relevant parties is a matter for local authorities working with the police on a case-by-case basis.

  The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 provides for the emergency protection of children. In order to assess risk, local authorities working with other agencies must identify sources of harm and make a full assessment of the child’s and family circumstances. Similarly, there are provisions in the Management of Offenders etc (Scotland) Act 2005 for local authorities to establish joint arrangements to assess and manage the risk from sex offenders.

Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000

  were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the act came into force, in each category.

Robert Brown: The Standing Orders of the Scottish Parliament require all Executive bills on introduction to be accompanied by a Financial Memorandum which sets out the best estimates of the administrative, compliance and other costs to which the provisions of the bill would give rise, best estimates of the timescales over which such costs would be expected to arise, and an indication of the margins of uncertainty in such estimates. The Financial Memorandum must distinguish separately such costs as would fall upon (a) the Scottish Administration, (b) local authorities and (c) other bodies, individuals and businesses. These memoranda are freely available on the Scottish Parliament’s website.

  By way of comparable information estimates of the actual initial set up costs and annual costs for the year 2005-06 in the same categories as the Financial Memoranda is as follows:

  

 Executive
 Local Authorities
 Other


 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual
 Set Up
 Annual


 Nil
£40,000
 Nil
£177 million
 Nil
 Nil

Transport

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what requirements are placed on regional transport partnerships to consult stakeholders and regarding in what manner and when such consultation should be carried out.

Tavish Scott: Provision is made within the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, requiring a transport partnership to consult with its constituent councils or council, each health board which falls wholly or partly within its region and other people as the partnership thinks fit, before arriving at its regional transport strategy.

  A transport partnership is also required to consult with its constituent councils or council regarding the transfer or concurrent carrying out of statutory functions relating to transport, before a request for such an order is made.

  In addition, a transport partnership shall have regard to any guidance in respect of the formulation and content of regional transport strategies given to it by the Scottish ministers.

  Guidance on Regional Transport Strategies was issued in March 2006:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/03/06145237/0.

Transport

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to publish best practice guidance on taxi and private hire licensing.

Tavish Scott: We intend to put draft guidance out to consultation early next year.

Transport

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that a uniform approach to the licensing of limousine and other private hire vehicles by local authorities would be of benefit to the public.

Tavish Scott: The determination of licensing arrangements for taxis and private hire cars appropriate to their areas is primarily a matter for individual licensing authorities having regard to local circumstances and their discretionary licensing powers under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

Vaccines

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on which countries use the MMR vaccine, in light of statements by the UK Department of Health that the vaccine is used in over 90 countries.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information is available at:

  http://www.mmrthefacts.nhs.uk/worldmap/usingmmr.php.

  This information was obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO) country profile website, which is available at:

  http://www.who.int/vaccines/globalsummary/immunization/countryprofileselect.cfm.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Garden Level Restaurant

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will reconsider the use of a card-only till in the garden level restaurant.

Kenny MacAskill: The SPCB recently considered this issue and agreed to continue with the current arrangements in the meantime. I would encourage all members to use the cashless system, as it ensures that everyone gets through both tills as quickly as possible. To make the system more convenient to use, we will be installing an additional cash loader at the servery entrance. We will of course continue to monitor the system.

Healthy Living and Well-Being Scheme

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body which parliamentary employees are eligible for the healthy living and well-being allowance; how many receive it, and what the total annual cost is of the scheme.

John Scott: The Healthy Living and Well-being Scheme is open to all SPCB staff, including seconded staff who were with the Parliament before 1 April 2000 and will continue to be paid by us direct. The scheme is also open to secondees who are employed under SPCB terms and conditions of employment.

  The number of claimants fluctuates from year-to-year. However, for the period from 1 August 2005 to 31 July 2006 192 staff made a claim.

  The annual cost will similarly fluctuate depending on the number of claims submitted. For the same period as above, the cost of the scheme was £32,528.25.

  The current maximum amount that can be claimed in any one year by an individual is £263. This is increased annually in August in line with RPI figure at April.

Members' Allowances Scheme

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to what extent the lessons learned by other parliaments in relation to the allocation of allowances for staff costs will inform the legacy paper setting out options for a review of the members’ allowances scheme.

Nora Radcliffe: Information on allowances from other Parliaments and how these have been devised and assessed would be a relevant consideration in any review. As I have made clear, the SPCB is seeking an issues paper to inform a legacy paper for the next Parliament. It is not intended to conduct a review in this session.

Non-Executive Bills Unit

Mark Ballard (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it is satisfied that the Non-Executive Bills Unit (NEBU) is adequately resourced to support the development of Members’ Bills.

John Scott: The Corporate Body is satisfied that the Non-Executive Bills Unit is adequately resourced to support the development of Members’ Bills as agreed by the Parliament on 26 October 2005.

  This session the overall amount of assistance provided by NEBU has increased. The number of NEBU-supported Bills introduced has risen from nine in session one to 10 this session; 83 ideas for proposals have been researched (up from 58), and the unit has provided assistance with 45 consultations (up from 10).